[martin_fierro]

Jeez, kids, get outside and play.

[martin_fierro]

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[bobby.223]

good God, the poor babies. I don’t think they know HOW to go outside and play now, just damn sad.

[TheZMan]

All this new gadgetry is accomplishing is a reduced societal cohesion and decreased neural activity. It all started when TV was introduced, but it’s gotten much worse since then.

[bigbob]

I’m sure the ACLU would claim this is a form of torture...

[doc1019]

Teens panic as they're forced to unplug at camp>/I>

LOL! As a matter of fact … LMAO! Can’t make this stuff up. ;-)

[martin_fierro]

Buried at the end of the article:

When camp starts, plugged-in children may feel a little disoriented, like a part of them is missing, said Dr. Michael Assel, associate professor of pediatric psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Those feelings should subside as children get involved in camp activities, he said.

Campers say that's what usually happens once camp activities begin. They forget about their lost social connections much like they forget about television.

"They keep you so busy, you are having so much fun, I forget about the computer. I forget about Facebook," said Max Truen, 15, of Dix Hills, N.Y., who goes to New Image Camp's Camp Pocono Trails each summer.

So the kids get over it. But why let the facts interfere with a good headline, right AP?

[HoosierHawk]

I suppose that if they actually went outside to go fishing, they'd have to leave this at home as well.

[greatdefender]

I remember when I was at church retreat, we were told only youth leaders were allow to cell phones and watches. All others were allow to have them. to me, that was a good idea because a church camp/retreat was suppose to “retreat” from worldly things and concentrate the time about the Lord & God for only few days. To tell you the truth, thats how I was able to know The Lord more better that way and experience my “first love”. Man, that was an amazing time there and there where times i want to relive those moments again.

[Moonman62]

It’s been about fifteen years since I’ve seen a kid go out and play on Christmas morning, too.

[Dallas59]

Church Camp....Glen Rose Texas....1970. No TV, no radio....3 squares a day and lots of hiking along the river and hills. Loved it!

[Thrownatbirth]

So when the 17-year-old was looking for a summer camp

Sheesh! Grow up, dude. Your local Armed Forces recruiter has several suggestions.

[fkabuckeyesrule]

When I was a teen we went to church camp and we had no TV. Maybe someone would have a radio (with batteries) there was no place to plug it in. The only way to get news was if someone made a phone call from a pay phone to the parents. I remember one year during church camp week a very famous singer from Mississippi died (he also had a large house in Memphis) and we didn’t even know about it till the next day.

[Winstons Julia]

Ze missing technology will seem like nossing...NOSSING...when zey find out zat zer are piranhas in the lake to eat zem one by one!

Muahhhhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[OCC]

"At first, it was scary," admits Sean, of River Vale, N.J. But he said, "once you get there, you realize you don't really need it. You are always with people, doing something."

I never went away to camp, but I'm sure kids from decades ago where just as scared leaving the nest for two weeks and it had nothing to do with electronic gadgets.

[xp38]

Obama worried about losing his Blackberry after the inauguration. Same thing.

[Syntyr]

“So when the 17-year-old was looking for a summer camp, he ruled out a church camp with a no cell phone, no computer policy.”

Sheesh
Had my drivers license at 14 (Texas hardship license)
At 17 I had two jobs (Landscape design and fast food)
By 18 I owned 2 cars (fully paid for) was paying rent and driven to and visited 31 of the states. Summers were a blast driving my Grandfather all around the US in his truck and trailer. He was legally blind. At the tender age of 15 I was driving Ford F350 pulling a 35’ fifth wheel trailer up the PCH. Great times!!!

What did I wind up with as a career? IT of course. So now I spend my days in the ice cold server rooms.

Dang I have to get out more!

[Free Vulcan]

Addictions come in many forms. Withdrawal can be painful no matter what it is.

[SamAdams76]

Banning cellphones, iPods and computers does seem a bit cruel. Recent advances in technology has reduced the size of these devices, making them handy to take camping, fishing, hiking, etc. Nobody should ever be forced to be without them.

I was on a recent hiking trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and I had my iPod and a device with full access to email, Twitter, Facebook and other internet sites including this here Free Republic. For example, as I was climbing Mt. Mansfield, I was keeping up with the latest "I'm Buying My First Gun - What Gun Should I Buy?" thread so I was never really out of touch with civilization even though all around me were nothing but trees and rocks.

When I finally gained the top of the mountaintop, I was able to text my Twitter follows "BION I climbd dat mntn! my 20 S tp Mt mansfield nu hamsphire, i own d gr8 outd%rs! B bac dwn @TEOTD, wen Ill pRT 2 d max"

For those not text-inclined, the above basically translates as follows:

Believe it or not, I climbed that mountain! My current location is atop Mt. Mansfield in New Hampshire - I own the great outdoors! Be back down at the end of the day when I'll party to the max!

[LearnsFromMistakes]

When my kids go on their ‘youth retreats’, it is often a no-phone/no-ipod weekend/week. They are allowed to take cameras so that my kids can put a video together later. Doesn’t hurt them at all.

[mysterio]

Poke fun, but I doubt any of us are any less addicted to FR.